Tag: saudi

German weapons maker Rheinmetall plans to sue the government over its decision to stop all arms exports to Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Spiegel Online reported on Sunday. Citing a letter to the Economy Ministry, Spiegel said Rheinmetall intends to sue the German government for loss of revenue if the export suspension continues. Last week the economy ministry said the government still had no intention of approving arms exports to Saudi Arabia. The company’s manage

German weapons maker Rheinmetall plans to sue the government over its decision to stop all arms exports to Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Spiegel Online reported on Sunday.

Citing a letter to the Economy Ministry, Spiegel said Rheinmetall intends to sue the German government for loss of revenue if the export suspension continues.

Berlin suspended approval of future export licences to Saudi Arabia in October and in November said it had worked with industry to halt shipments of arms sales that were already approved.

No specific timetable was given at the time, but industry sources told Reuters an agreement had been struck to revisit the matter by mid-January.

Last week the economy ministry said the government still had no intention of approving arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

Without citing sources, Spiegel said Rheinmetall believes it can claim for compensation because the government’s decision affected exports that had already been approved.

The company’s management fears shareholders could sue Rheinmetall if the company does not demand compensation for the losses, Spiegel added.

“We cannot comment on individual decisions, possible revocations or individual measures,” the Economy Ministry said in an emailed statement.

A spokesman for Rheinmetall declined to comment on the report.

Spiegel said goods worth up to 2 billion euros (£1.8 billion) are affected by the export suspension, including four Cobra radar systems built by a consortium that includes France’s Thales, Airbus and Lockheed Martin of the United States.

The level of crude output from the U.S. will once again be a major factor this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said its closely-watched report on Friday, with the energy giant on track to reaffirm its position as the world’s leading crude producer. The IEA report comes shortly after OPEC and non-OPEC producers officially implemented a fresh round of supply cuts. “While the other two giants voluntarily cut output, the U.S., already the biggest liquids supplier, will reinforce its lead

The level of crude output from the U.S. will once again be a major factor this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said its closely-watched report on Friday, with the energy giant on track to reaffirm its position as the world’s leading crude producer.

Alongside Russia and nine other nations, top oil exporter Saudi Arabia struck a deal with the rest of OPEC in December to keep 1.2 million barrels per day (b/d) off the market from the start of January.

“While the other two giants voluntarily cut output, the U.S., already the biggest liquids supplier, will reinforce its leadership as the world’s number one crude producer,” the Paris-based IEA said Friday.

“By the middle of the year, U.S. crude output will probably be more than the capacity of either Saudi Arabia or Russia.”

International benchmark Brent crude traded at around $61.69 Friday morning, up 0.8 percent, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at $52.56, almost 1 percent higher.

Brent crude has fallen almost 30 percent since climbing to a peak of $86.29 in early October last year, while WTI is down more than 31 percent over the same period.

The collapse in oil prices was exacerbated by concerns about oversupply, as well as a stock market slump amid worries over rising U.S. interest rates.

That prompted OPEC and non-OPEC producers to throttle back output at the start of 2019, in an effort to try to put a floor under falling oil prices.

A deal was struck last June for around 20 million euros ($22 million) to stage the Supercoppa in Saudi Arabia for three of the next five seasons. Saudi Arabia has been attempting to project a more moderate image to the world in recent months. We strongly urge you to reconsider the decision to stage this match in Saudi Arabia,” he went on to say. In October, beIN commenced an international investment arbitration claiming over $1 billion in damages against Saudi Arabia on the basis of beoutQ. Last

A deal was struck last June for around 20 million euros ($22 million) to stage the Supercoppa in Saudi Arabia for three of the next five seasons.

However, following the killing of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October, several major sporting eventsplanned for the country have come under scrutiny.

Saudi Arabia has been attempting to project a more moderate image to the world in recent months. However, the Khashoggi controversy and laws outlawing women from even attending soccer matches led to Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, himself a fan of AC Milan, to say he won’t be watching the match out of principle.

It’s the sixth time in 10 years that the Supercoppa has been decided outside Europe. Far from home locations have included Libya, the United States, Qatar on two occasions and four times in China.

Eleven Sports Network, who own the digital rights to Italian football coverage in several territories, has also voiced its concern about the piracy issues surrounding beoutQ and also the suitability of Saudi Arabia to host the Supercoppa.

“The staging of this match in Saudi Arabia serves only to reward a country that has done nothing to combat the continued presence and operation of the beoutQ service from within its borders,” Andrea Cerroni, Eleven Sports Group General Counsel, said in a letter to Serie A back in December.

“This decision will drastically damage the ongoing efforts of the entire sports industry to combat and end this hugely disruptive, illegal and damaging piracy. We strongly urge you to reconsider the decision to stage this match in Saudi Arabia,” he went on to say.

Eleven Sports failed to receive a reply its letter, which was sent directly to the Chief Executive Marco Brunelli, but in October Serie A did defend the decision to stage the match in Jeddah, not least as Saudi Arabia is Italy’s biggest trading partner in the Middle East.

Last month the World Trade Organization in Geneva approved a request for the establishment of a WTO panel to adjudicate on the beoutQ case brought against Saudi Arabia for violating intellectual property rights.

In October, beIN commenced an international investment arbitration claiming over $1 billion in damages against Saudi Arabia on the basis of beoutQ. Last summer, world soccer’s governing body FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and other sports rights holders have disclosed that they will be launching legal action in Saudi Arabia.

Last year, also saw for the first time in more than a decade, the U.S. government place Saudi Arabia on its 2018 Special 301 Watch List, noting concerns over the deteriorating environment for the protection of intellectual property.

To add to the political and sporting rivalry that’s developed between the two Arab nations, Qatar’s soccer team faces its Saudi Arabian rivals in a group match at the Asian Cup on Thursday.

CNBC has attempted to contact boutQ and approached Arabsat for comment, but has so far failed to receive a response.

The top U.S. diplomat met separately with King Salman for 35 minutes and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for another 45 minutes, according to reporters travelling with him. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh tweeted that Pompeo and the crown prince had agreed on the need for a continued de-escalation in Yemen and adherence to agreements made last month at talks in Sweden to end a nearly four-year civil war between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the Iranian-aligned Houthis. Pompeo has said he would

The top U.S. diplomat met separately with King Salman for 35 minutes and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for another 45 minutes, according to reporters travelling with him.

The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh tweeted that Pompeo and the crown prince had agreed on the need for a continued de-escalation in Yemen and adherence to agreements made last month at talks in Sweden to end a nearly four-year civil war between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the Iranian-aligned Houthis.

Pompeo has said he would also discuss the investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October, but no details of that discussion were immediately available.

A CIA assessment has blamed Prince Mohammed for ordering the killing of Khashoggi, a longtime royal insider who had become a critic of the crown prince, though Saudi officials deny the prince ordered the murder.

The killing has sparked the kingdom’s worst political crisis in a generation, strained ties with Western allies including the United States, and focused attention on Prince Mohammed’s domestic crackdown on dissent and the war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said Sunday he’s positive OPEC and partnered nations will meet their production cut commitments to balance oil markets in 2019, despite what he described as a slower than anticipated pace by some. “We’ve already done it, we’ve done enough,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told CNBC on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, when asked what OPEC’s largest producer would do to balance markets this year. Russia was more reluctant to cut its output, as its growth is heavily depende

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said Sunday he’s positive OPEC and partnered nations will meet their production cut commitments to balance oil markets in 2019, despite what he described as a slower than anticipated pace by some.

“We’ve already done it, we’ve done enough,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told CNBC on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, when asked what OPEC’s largest producer would do to balance markets this year. “Not only the kingdom but other countries, we’ve heard from the Emirates, I’ve talked repeatedly to my colleagues in Iraq, they’ve already taken action,” he told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble.

He then mentioned the performance of the largest non-OPEC producer that’s partnered with the cartel on cuts: “Russia has started, slower than I’d like, but they’ve started, and I am sure as they did as in 2017 they’ll catch up and be a positive contributor to re-balancing the market.”

OPEC members, along with several other countries, in December agreed on output cuts totaling 1.2 million barrels per day in order to stem a sinking market and support their own export-dependent economies. “OPEC plus” refers to the group’s cooperation with the non-OPEC producers like Russia and other former Soviet states, as well as Mexico. Russia was more reluctant to cut its output, as its growth is heavily dependent on robust crude exports.

Russia has initially let the Saudis shoulder the bulk of output cuts. The top OPEC ally, which in late 2016 began a cooperation agreement with Riyadh to stabilize oil prices, has often said that $60 per barrel is enough to meet its economic needs. Moscow in December said it would cut production by 50,000 to 60,000 barrels a day in January, while Saudi pledged a cut of 900,000 barrels.

Saudi Arabia plans to set up a $10 billion oil refinery in Pakistan’s deepwater port of Gwadar, the Saudi energy minister said on Saturday, speaking at the Indian Ocean port that is being developed with the help of China. Pakistan wants to attract investment and other financial support to tackle a soaring current account deficit caused partly by rising oil prices. Last year, Saudi Arabia offered Pakistan a $6 billion package that included help to finance crude imports. “Saudi Arabia wants to mak

Saudi Arabia plans to set up a $10 billion oil refinery in Pakistan’s deepwater port of Gwadar, the Saudi energy minister said on Saturday, speaking at the Indian Ocean port that is being developed with the help of China.

Pakistan wants to attract investment and other financial support to tackle a soaring current account deficit caused partly by rising oil prices. Last year, Saudi Arabia offered Pakistan a $6 billion package that included help to finance crude imports.

He said Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman would visit Pakistan in February to sign the agreement. The minister added that Saudi Arabia would also invest in other sectors.

Beijing has pledged $60 billion as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that involves building power stations, major highways, new and upgraded railways and higher capacity ports, to help turn Pakistan into a major overland route linking western China to the world.

It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted Alqunon to choose Canada over Australia. Australia’s Education Minister Dan Tehan said Saturday that Australia had moved quickly to process her case but Canada decided to take her in. It got enough public and diplomatic support that Thai officials admitted her temporarily under the protection of U.N. officials, who granted her refugee status Wednesday. No country, including the U.S., spoke out publicly in support of Canada in that spat with the Saudis. A

Several other countries, including Australia, had been in talks with the U.N.’s refugee agency to accept Alqunun, Surachate said earlier in the day.

“She chose Canada. It’s her personal decision,” he said.

Canada’s ambassador had seen her off at the airport, Surachate said, adding that she looked happy and healthy.

She thanked everyone for helping her, he said, and added that the first thing she would do upon arrival in Canada would be to start learning the language. She already speaks more than passable English, in addition to Arabic.

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees welcomed Canada’s decision.

“The quick actions over the past week of the government of Thailand in providing temporary refuge and facilitating refugee status determination by UNHCR, and of the government of Canada in offering emergency resettlement to Ms. Alqunun and arranging her travel were key to the successful resolution of this case,” the agency said in a statement.

It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted Alqunon to choose Canada over Australia. Australian media reported that UNHCR had withdrawn its referral for Alqunon to be resettled in Australia because Canberra was taking too long to decide on her asylum.

UNHCR officials were not immediately available for comment. Australia’s Education Minister Dan Tehan said Saturday that Australia had moved quickly to process her case but Canada decided to take her in. He added that, ultimately, the outcome was a good one. “She’s going to be safe,” he said.

“This is so much a victory for everyone who cares about respecting and promoting women’s rights, valuing the independence of youth to forge their own way, and demanding governments operate in the light and not darkness,” he said in a statement.

Alqunun was stopped Jan. 5 at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport by immigration police who denied her entry and seized her passport.

She barricaded herself in an airport hotel room and took her plight onto social media. It got enough public and diplomatic support that Thai officials admitted her temporarily under the protection of U.N. officials, who granted her refugee status Wednesday.

Alqunun’s father arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday, but his daughter refused to meet with him. Surachate said the father — whose name has not been released — denied physically abusing Alqunun or trying to force her into an arranged marriage, which were among the reasons she gave for her flight. He said Alqunun’s father wanted his daughter back but respected her decision.

Canada’s decision to grant her asylum could further upset the country’s relations with Saudi Arabia.

In August, Saudi Arabia expelled Canada’s ambassador to the kingdom and withdrew its own ambassador after Canada’s Foreign Ministry tweeted support for women’s right activists who had been arrested. The Saudis also sold Canadian investments and ordered their citizens studying in Canada to leave.

No country, including the U.S., spoke out publicly in support of Canada in that spat with the Saudis.

On Friday, Trudeau avoided answering a question about what the case would mean for relations with the kingdom, but he said Canada will always unequivocally stand up for human rights and women’s rights around the world.

Canadian officials were reluctant to comment further until she landed safely in Canada.

Alqunun had previously said on Twitter that she wanted to seek refuge in Australia.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne met Thursday with senior Thai officials in Bangkok. She later said Australia was assessing Alqunun’s resettlement request.

Payne said she also raised Australia’s concerns with Thai officials about Hakeem al-Araibi, a 25-year-old former member of Bahrain’s national soccer team who was granted refugee status in Australia in 2017 after fleeing his homeland, where he said he was persecuted and tortured.

He was arrested while vacationing in Thailand in November due to an Interpol notice in which Bahrain sought his custody after he was sentenced in absentia in 2014 to 10 years in prison for allegedly vandalizing a police station — a charge he denies. Bahrain is seeking his extradition.

Al-Araibi’s case is being considered by Thailand’s justice system, she said.

In a part of the world better known for towering skyscrapers and oil than for its startup scene, Gulf Arab entrepreneurs might be seeing bright times ahead. That’s according to Fadi Ghandour, executive chairman of Wanda Group, whose venture capital fund invests in tech companies all over the Middle East and North Africa. Now that oil prices are dramatically down from their October highs, the veteran Middle East investor says the market moves “will definitely be a blessing in disguise” and in tha

In a part of the world better known for towering skyscrapers and oil than for its startup scene, Gulf Arab entrepreneurs might be seeing bright times ahead. That’s according to Fadi Ghandour, executive chairman of Wanda Group, whose venture capital fund invests in tech companies all over the Middle East and North Africa.

“For years we’ve said there is an inverse relationship between how change happens on the regulatory environment and the price of oil — the lower the price of oil, the faster the change process happens,” Ghandour told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on Thursday, pointing to Arab Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates whose economies have historically been dependent on hydrocarbon revenues.

Now that oil prices are dramatically down from their October highs, the veteran Middle East investor says the market moves “will definitely be a blessing in disguise” and in that it will force the development of sustainable, knowledge-based economies and jobs. He believes that startups founded five or more years ago are now reaching their maturity stage, meaning there will be more businesses scaling up in the next several years — if they can get the necessary support.

“These companies born somewhere around 2011, 2012, have raised much more money, they are growing much faster, the region is adopting mobile smartphone technology much faster, they are interacting much faster and at a much larger scale, specifically in Saudi Arabia,” Ghandour said.

“This is the time when there is size, there is scale, and the big funds globally who don’t want to take the risk early on, are going to be looking for entry into a market that they don’t have much presence in.” He pointed to New York-based global equity firm General Atlantic’s investment of $120 million in Dubai-based website Property Finder last November. The Middle East real estate platform was founded in 2007 and has been profitable since 2013.

Investments in Middle East and North Africa (MENA)-based startups went up by 31 percent between 2017 and 2018 to $893 million, with 366 deals made, according to Magnitt, a regional data platform for investors. The database also found that more than 155 institutions invested in MENA startups in 2018, 30 percent of which were from outside the region and 47 percent of which had not previously invested in the region.

Saudi Arabia’s massive oil and gas reserves are even bigger than previously reported, according to an outside assessment commissioned by the kingdom. It also shows national oil giant Saudi Aramco is taking strides towards transparency as it continues to consider a stock market debut. That is 2.2 billion barrels more than Aramco reported in its last annual review. Saudi Arabia, which is not a major player in the gas market, previously reported 302.3 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves. Including

Saudi Arabia’s massive oil and gas reserves are even bigger than previously reported, according to an outside assessment commissioned by the kingdom.

The independent audit not only revised Saudi reserves higher, but may help put to rest skepticism over the nation’s oil and gas wealth, which has persisted in some corners of the market for years. It also shows national oil giant Saudi Aramco is taking strides towards transparency as it continues to consider a stock market debut.

On Wednesday, Saudi Energy Minister and Aramco Chairman Khalid al-Falih said the kingdom expects the initial public offering for Aramco to take place in 2021, following a delay.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude exporter, had 263.1 billion barrels of oil waiting to be tapped at the end of 2017, according to Dallas-based petroleum consulting firm DeGolyer and MacNaughton. That is 2.2 billion barrels more than Aramco reported in its last annual review.

The kingdom’s natural gas reserves total 319.5 trillion cubic feet, according to the audit. Saudi Arabia, which is not a major player in the gas market, previously reported 302.3 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.

Saudi Arabia has additional reserves in an area along the border with Kuwait that has sat idle due to a dispute between the neighbors. Including this so-called Neutral Zone, Saudi oil reserves total 268.5 billion barrels, DeGolyer and MacNaughton concluded. That compares with an earlier estimate of 266.3 billion barrels.

The Saudis commissioned the audit as part of their plan to publicly list shares of Aramco, the world’s largest energy company. The kingdom hoped to attract a $2 trillion valuation and raise $100 billion to underwrite Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic transformation plan, Vision 2030.

The Nasdaq Dubai has launched futures trading on shares of 12 Saudi Arabian companies, its first single stock futures outside of the United Arab Emirates. The move aims to diversify financial offerings to regional and international investors, allowing them to both invest in and trade Saudi companies on the Emirati exchange. The companies now available for futures trading on the Dubai exchange comprise a market capitalization of 794 billion Saudi riyals ($212 billion) and cover sectors including

The Nasdaq Dubai has launched futures trading on shares of 12 Saudi Arabian companies, its first single stock futures outside of the United Arab Emirates. The move aims to diversify financial offerings to regional and international investors, allowing them to both invest in and trade Saudi companies on the Emirati exchange.

The companies now available for futures trading on the Dubai exchange comprise a market capitalization of 794 billion Saudi riyals ($212 billion) and cover sectors including real estate, mining, banks, industrial materials and petrochemicals.

“This is a very good opportunity for investors out of the region to be able to hedge or take positions, long or short, when it comes to Saudi markets,” Nasdaq Dubai Chief Executive Hamed Ali told CNBC on Wednesday. “It’s a product that complements the current Saudi market, rather than competes with it.”

Futures are financial products used to speculate on the price movement of an underlying asset. Going short is betting that a company’s share price will fall.

Despiteweakened international confidence in Saudi Arabia after a slew of political controversies over the last year, the Nasdaq Dubai’s senior management see promise in the oil-rich kingdom’s reform agenda. Ali emphasized his confidence on Saudi Arabia’s planned reforms toward a more open economy and remained optimistic on the country’s outlook.

Indeed, the kingdom’s inclusion in the MSCI emerging markets index slated for this year is expected to attract some $15 billion in passive funds and several billions more in active funds. Investors have pointed to Riyadh’s easing of some regulatory requirements and adoption of international best practice procedures as signs of progress.